A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
Hair stylist Bridget Nhire has been banned for life by British Airways after getting up to stretch her legs through a flight from London to Dubai.
In her version it was all about staving off deep vein thrombosis.
Apparently the crew ‘moved her to the front of the plane’ because off her ‘aggressiveness’. She was also strapped to a seat. She admits to drinking “two glasses of wine with my meal” but claims not to have been drunk.
Major changes at the company in a Marriott deal will include customers (as they ultimately create a single loyalty program for the combined companies), owners of some hotels (as they consolidate brands), and Starwood management (which is where job cuts will predominantly fall).
Don’t feel badly for the executives at the very top of Starwood, however. A Starwood SEC filing on Friday in connection with the Marriott acquisition revealed the payouts that the company’s officers will receive as a result of the transaction.
The co-pilot for American Airlines flight 738 this morning from Detroit to Philadephia was arrested on suspicion of being drunk.
The TSA reported that the co-pilot appeared inebriated while passing through the security checkpoint and police were called. The co-pilot failed a breathalyzer test and was arrested and then released after he had sobered up.
Apparently though the co-pilot made it on to the aircraft, because passengers reported watching him being removed from the plane.
One of the more interesting angles to the story of the flight attendant caught with 70 pounds of cocaine is that she wasn’t immediately arrested. Instead, she ran off.
And in my view the TSA did everything right.
On Monday Marriott increased their offer substantially to take the lead in the acquisition of Starwood. Marriott’s offer is 0.8 Marriott shares and $21 in cash for each Starwood share. A shareholder vote scheduled for April 8.
SEC filings that reveal the previous offers that Chinese insurer Anbang made for Starwood along the way to the most recent offers of $78 cash and Marriott’s offer which is valued at $75.91 as of Friday’s market close (Marriott’s shares fell on the announcement of their new offer for Starwood, again on the Brussels airport attacks, and have continued to slide.)
Anbang apparently made higher offers late last year, and Starwood’s board’s insistence on a lower breakup fee than Marriott wanted in their counter-offer suggest a window for the Chinese insurer to make a new bid.
A roundup of the most important stories of the day. I keep you up to date on the most interesting writings I find on other sites – the latest news and tips.
The Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile has their Ambassadors Suites for sale at just $142 a night plus tax. Availability is reportedly August 2 through December 30.
All room types appear to be coming up at the same rate. Note that in addition to lounge access, the rate itself while prepaid and non-refundable also includes breakfast.
JetBlue flight 29, an Embraer ERJ-190 (registration N273JB) from Washington National to Nassau, failed to show nose gear down and locked so the pilot decided to go around and make a low approach to allow visual inspection.
They determined that the gear was not extended. It was nearly completely inside the wheel well. And since they weren’t able to rectify the situation, preparations were made to land with the gear up.
I visited three of the four lounges in Houston’s terminal D. There’s the airport’s own Executive Lounge which I will cover in this post and is used by Emirates and also Lufthansa among others. There’s also a KLM lounge and an Air France lounge separately (odd, since they’re jointly owned and mere gates apart). And there’s a British Airways lounge that I didn’t have access to on this trip.
In a few months the terminal will be getting an American Express Centurion lounge. And the terminal itself is slated for replacement so lounge options will change entirely in a few years. Of course the terminal is connected airside to the other terminals in Houston, so for instance you can visit United Clubs as well.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
